ClubStar Art Team and Karine Jackson

During their mentoring day, the team were tasked with prepping models for their contribution to that evening’s President’s Night; Karine’s final event as outgoing President. The team created two models looks, which were shown during the event’s Champagne reception, and on stage during a catwalk presentation.

“Spending the day with Karine was so inspirational from start to finish,” says team member April Mash from Strangeways salon in Leigh on Sea, Essex. “It was an honour

to attend President’s Night with Karine, as well as having the experience of working in her salon. Within the hairdressing industry, she is such an icon to look up to, so it was interesting to see how she successfully balances working in the salon with such responsibility.”

During the mentoring day, Karine guided the team through what it takes to prep models for a show, what the evening would involve and their responsibilities as a team working closely together. Team Leader, Simon Tuckwell, was also on hand to help the group bring their ideas to life and feel confident in their presentation.

The team’s models were based on the word Apricity – an ancient word meaning the warmth of the sun in winter, which had served as the inspiration for Karine’s last collection.

“We learnt a huge amount about show work during the day,” explains April. “Especially about working backstage on a tight, timed schedule. For both of our looks we used added hair, so we got to experience working with different types of extensions and wefts as well as ways of placing and securing them into the hair without it being uncomfortable for our models. As a group we recognised our individual skills making sure we used them to an advantage when we didn't have Karine around to guide us.”

“Seeing our final looks on stage was the most mind-blowing feeling,” concludes April. “It really brought us together as a team and seeing Simon’s reaction was such a touching feeling, knowing we had made our mentor proud on our first show as a team. We received some amazing feedback after the show as well as on social media, which was really rewarding – especially from hairdressers we all look up to within the industry. I know we all felt quite emotional and proud after the event and it’s definitely motivated us for our next team days. Sometimes being young within the industry and surrounded by such icons can be a tad overwhelming, but after creating such amazing work together, I felt really confident about what this industry has to offer us as young stylists!”